Free The Serenity Solution: How to Use Quiet Contemplation to Solve Life's Problems by Keith Park Page B

fighting off cancer by visualizing tumors shrinking in vivid detail.
    Simonton’s patients are initially taught basic body awareness and then shown how to construct detailed images of the healing process. They may, in particular, be taught to visualize cancer cells as weak and sluggish organisms, such as snails, and their immune cells as strong and aggressive predators like sharks (and even Pac Men) that attack and eat-up the cancer cells. Afterwards, patients are instructed to imagine seeing the cancer cells shrink and be carried away by the body’s immune and elimination systems. Finally, the visualization ends with patients imagining they are feeling better, having more energy, a better appetite, and more zest for life.
    A typical visualization session is about fifteen minutes. Each session is then repeated three times a day for a period of several weeks. Afterwards, in many cases, tumor reductions have been verified by biopsies.
    Another source of astounding accounts of body effects with detailed imagery is in the area of monks and meditation. One of the most well-known accounts was reported by Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist at the Mind-Body Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Benson studied Tibet monks for some time and discovered that these amazing monks could
    withstand sub-freezing temperatures overnight at 15,000 feet elevations in Concentrating Awareness (Up-Close Immersed Mode) 71
    nothing more than sheets simply by visualizing fire brewing and flowing through their bodies.
    And there are anecdotal stories to tell as well. About seven years ago, I suffered from persisting chest pains and arrhythmias and did not know why. So, I calmly focused inward and was directed to a place over my upper right atrium. There, I noticed a dark, rigid area. When I went to investigate this with my cardiologist, we discovered the area to be an inflamed sinus node. I then began visualizing this area returning to a normal color and texture over the next several weeks. The arrhythmia eventually stopped and my heart has been fine since.
    Another story comes from Rupert, a client of mine who suffered
    from cervical neck pain after a vehicle accident a few years prior. Once instructed on how to enter a calm inner focus, Rupert went home to imagine a realignment of his discs as well as a decrease in inflammation in the area in order to relieve pressure off the nerves. The next day, he discovered that the pain had significantly decreased and his mobility in his neck had returned for several days after this episode.
    Another client, Samantha, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After
    hearing the news, she went home to pray and meditate for several weeks.
    Afterwards, to her surprise she found that the tumor had disappeared on subsequent medical scans.
    These are just a few examples. There are many more that, along with the documented research on mind-body effects, provide ample evidence that the mind when focused on detailed internal pictures can produce physiological changes well beyond what is capable in a normal state of mind. To learn more how to evoke such healthy states check out the exercises at the end of this chapter.
    72 Five
    In the next three exercises, we’re going to learn how to concentrate awareness on a single target. If you’ve been practicing the focus control exercises somewhat, you should find it easier to do these exercises, and in particular, hold your focus on a target long enough to develop details about it as well as immerse yourself in a desired mental and physical state.
    Exercise 5.1: Target Detailing
    In this exercise, we’re going to learn how to concentrate our awareness on a target and gather information about it. A mind tends to immerse itself when it actively seeks new information. To insure we develop the details, remember to gently return your focus back to the target of interest if it strays. If you can keep your focused settled in one place long enough, you should begin to notice a deepening of